Woman angry at her partner because he doesn't masturbate

A woman has raised an unusual complaint about her partner - that he doesn't masturbate enough.

Writing to a the Guardian advice column, the unnamed woman expressed frustration that her partner expects all his sexual fulfillment to come from her, rather than in addition to masturbation.

She said: "My partner doesn’t masturbate and he gets very frustrated and difficult to live with when we don’t have sex. I feel it’s unfair for all the responsibility to fall on me to relieve him of his sexual tension."

She added: "It just ends up becoming a chore I have to do on top of the parenting, housework, etc. I want to get another opinion on whether this is fair, plus advice on how to manage a man’s expectations about how much sex couples with kids have in long-term relationships."

Responding to her concerns, Pamela Stephenson Connolly, a US-based psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders said there was more to the story.

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She wrote that "there is underlying resentment between you, and it needs to be addressed before everything becomes worse." She added that the woman needs to ask for help in order to relieve the stress that she is under.

Connolly also felt that the husband could be "feeling marginalised and needs your attention" as he may feel that she is otherwise focused on other things like children, health and finances.

"Even if he did masturbate, for him, that is not the point; he is not just seeking sexual gratification – he may want to be close to you. Start by getting your day-to-day needs met; that will produce some immediate positive results."

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